Fall 1965 Season Anime
Leo the white lion was born on an ocean liner that crashed on the shores of a bustling city, where he spent his childhood learning the language and customs of humans. But something was missing. In search of his family, home, and a place to truly belong, Leo traveled back to Africa and began his journey to become the King of the Jungle. Leo's adventure centers around finding peace between the animals and humans who live in his African home, often competing for space and resources. As he grows, Leo must survive both the area's harsh environment, dangers from other animals, and humans who hunt lions like him for sport. Only communication and mutual understanding can end the fighting, and Leo's knowledge of human culture may be just what the jungle needed. Jungle Taitei is the epic story of a young lion's struggles to survive in a dangerous land.
The show centers around three hobos that live in a broken car on top of a junkyard: Punch, Touch, and Boom. Punch is a bear who is literally strong-headed: his head is as hard as a rock, and nothing can knock him down. Boom the weasel is an expert shot, using not a gun, but a slingshot. Touch the mouse takes advantage of her smallness in order to get into small holes and sneaking into things without the villains knowing. Gari-Gari is a mad scientist wolf who wants to build a mansion over the junkyard, constantly thinking up evil plans to get the money needed to buy the property, whether it’s creating a machine that creates counterfeit 10 yen (about 10 cents in US money) or stealing priceless paintings and selling it to a high bidder. He is an inventor, creating things that can aid him into doing his deed. If Gari-Gari buys the junkyard, this of course means that the three heroes will have no place to stay, so they constantly thwart his schemes. Gari-Gari has two henchmen working for him: Black and Nyu. Black is a gangster cat who welds a gun, often shooting at Punch and the gang with it. Nyu is a simple-minded pig who has big strength. (Source: Cartoon Research) *Based on Hustle Punch by Mori Yasuji, serialized in Manga O.